Little Spirit
by AngelxxBites
Summary: Okay, I'm not very good at these soo... Without a family, a mysterious kekkei genkai, and a refugee of war a little girl finds a home.  How Sakura Haruno came to be.  Non-Uchiha Massacre.
1. Chapter 1: Worry

O.k. So this is my story from my other accout greezy weezul. I feel really bad because I haven't' tried installing it in my new account but I've just been afraid it wouldn't work so yeah... I put it off. It is a little different than the one that I posted before because I just felt that I didn't do it any justice. Trust me it was a lot cooler in my head. Yeah I still haven't figured out the reason why I was able to post before and if I have anymore problems this time I think that I will start posting on a different website or something like that. So yeah, here it is my new and improved fanfic!

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters in this book are not mine they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. If I do make up any characters then they belong to me. I intend no copyright.

**Enjoy! :)**

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><p><strong> <span>Little Spirit<span>**

This story that you are about to read begins a few months after one of many civil wars in the Land of Water. It begins more specifically in a village known as Kirigakure no Sato or the Village Hidden in the Mist. At the time the village was being run by the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura container of the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle.

At first the villagers thought that Yagura was a kind Mizukage but slowly he began to change. He became a ruthless leader starting with annihilating almost all the ninjas working for him with kekkei genkai. Then he issued a new graduation ritual where the graduating students would be split up to fight one on one with each other to the death before they could graduate. Because of that ritual the village was also known as the "Village of the Bloody Mist." It was also the last straw for some of the ninja and villagers.

All began to think that something was wrong with their Mizukage and so they started speculating. Some of the people thought that he could be possessed by the Three-Tails, others thought that he might be being manipulated from behind the scenes, and there also were a few choice people that thought he was just doing what he thought would stop the wars and make the shinobi stronger. But all of them were in the agreement of they didn't know what to do or how to stop what was happening.

And so the story begins.

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><p><strong><em>Hiragana Compound, Main House<em>**

"Maaaamaaa!" Yelled a little girl running around trying to find the person in question.

"Yes?" Said a sing song voice.

Hearing that the voice was coming from behind a shed in the backyard the little girl took off running as fast as she could.

"Mama!" Yelled the little girl again, jumping out from behind the other side of the shed to come face to back with a woman with long, white hair flowing down across her back from her bent over position.

"Yes, Sukoshi?" Asked the woman again as she started to bend up from her bent over position where she had been picking up trowel to start working on her garden.

"Mama! There is some man at the door wanting to speak to you or Papa." Said the slightly out of breathe child if the blush across her cheeks and the way she was panting was evidence for anything.

"Oh." The startled woman said with wide, green eyes. "Well, did you ask who he was?" The woman questioned the little girl as she sat her trowel down and started pulling off her gardening gloves one at a time while looking at her daughter.

"Nope." Said the little girl cheekily while giving her mother an enduring smile and causing the woman in question to raise one of her eyebrows incredulously.

"Well, do you at least know who he is?" The woman asked while starting to walk back to the family house.

"Yep." Said the little girl as she started to walk along side her mother.

The woman paused in her walking causing the little girl to walk ahead a few steps before pausing long enough to turn around to look at her mother with confused eyes.

The woman then sighed a long sigh and walked to her daughter to bend her knees enough to where she could be eye to eye with her.

"Who is he, Sukoshi?" Asked the woman while looking into the eyes that were so much like her own it was like staring into a mirror.

"He is the Mizukage, Mama." The little girl said as she smiled at her mother.

The woman seemed to pause as her shoulders stiffened and her eyes took on a far away look. Then she started walking in a hurried pace across the yard and to the back door. Before turning the knob to open the door the woman looked down to her daughter clinging to the hem of her black dress with confusion in her eyes. Not being able to look for long the woman bent down again to her daughters height and put her hand on her head causing the little girl to reach up with both of her hands to lay on top of her mothers.

"Honey?" The woman paused long enough to make sure she had the full attention of her daughter.

"Hmm?" The little girl hummed sweetly while tilting her head to the side curiously.

"I want you to go to your grandmothers' and grandfathers' house and stay until I come to get you after I get done with talking to the Mizukage." The woman paused again to wait for her daughter to nod her head to let her mother know she got everything. When her daughter did so she started again.

"If you run into your father going through the compound I want you to tell him to come here right away, okay?" The woman finished, looking into her daughter's eyes with concern.

"Okay." The little girl said while nodding her head to confirm that she understood.

When the mother saw this she lifted her other hand from its spot on the porch and laid it on top of her daughter's hands to give them a tight squeeze. After a few seconds the mother finally pulled her hands away and stood up. Smiling down at her daughter she lifted her right hand and pointed to the white painted, garden gate with her pointer finger.

"Go through the garden and run as fast as you can to the end of the garden, then turn and walk out to the streets of the compound to your grandparents' house. When you get there I want you to tell them that you are just there for a visit and that your father and I will be coming shortly. Alright, Sukoshi." The young woman ordered her daughter with no room for argument.

Nodding her head showing that she understood everything that her mother said she then jumped off the porch and started across the lawn to where the garden gate was. After she opened it half way she turned back to her mother to wave at her since she was still waiting on the back porch watching her go. When her mother waved back she then walked to the other side of the gate and then turned to close the gate door, then she started running through her mother's well taken cared for garden being sure not to damage anything on her way.

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><p><strong><em>Hiragana Compound, Grandparent's house<em>**

"Sukoshi?" The little girl heard her grandmother ask.

"Hmm, grandma?" The little girl asked turning her head away from the window that she had been staring out of ever since she got there a few hours ago.

"Would you like something to eat, Sukoshi?" Asked the sweet, little old woman while smiling warmly at her only grandchild.

The old woman had been glancing worriedly at her granddaughter ever since she had let her in and she sat down in front of the window in the living room to stare for hours without hardly moving an inch. Of course her husband would have to be out with Sukoshi's father right when she needed him the most. He would always somehow manage to do that when he was needed for something.

Sighing when her question was received with only a distracted nod she slowly walked out of the room and into the kitchen wondering what had gotten into her beloved granddaughter. She was also wondering why it was taking her mother so long to get here. She really did want to see her daughter-in-law again. It had been so long.

***** _a few minutes later_ *****

Right before the old woman was about to finish with her granddaughter's dinner there was a knock at the front door. Setting the plate she had just gotten down from the top cabinet on the counter, she wiped her hands quickly on a towel and then started hurrying to reach the front door to greet whoever was there.

"Oh!" Opening the door she was surprised to see that it was her husband, her son, and her daughter-in-law all standing on the front porch with grave expressions on their faces.

"Well come on in." The old woman said stepping back from the door allowing everyone to have a chance to wipe their shoes on the rug outside and enough room to walk through the doorway and into the hall.

"So," The old woman starts out, "What's happened this time?" She asked with exasperation in her voice.

Her husband smiled a disarming smile, but it didn't really work all that well on her since she knew that he only smiled like that when he was worried, which in turn made her even more worried.

"Well you see, Honey, the Mizukage just has a job that he wants us to complete. So there is nothing for you to worry about." After her husband said that he gave her another smile that was more natural than the last one, so she was able to smile back and forget about it for now. That was, until her granddaughter was around.

**_To be continued..._**

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><p>Alright so as you can see I kind of changed a lot of what I had as my first chapter before. In fact you can say that this isn't the same story at all. But I can assure you that it will still have sort of the same plot to it. I actually think this was a better way to start off this story then the way I used last time.<p>

Anyway for everyone who recognizes the name 'Sukoshi'. Yeah I did get it from another story but I didn't mean to be a copywriter I just thought that it was a good name and I just couldn't think of any other name at the moment so yeah. I am sorry. Please don't hate me.

Sakura's name for now: Sukoshi Hiragana. Sukoshi meaning "little". Hiragana meaning "spirit".

I hope you enjoyed it now and if any kind soul out there wants to give me their opinion, well, I'm all yours. Until next time, later!

p.s. Sorry for taking so long!


	2. Chapter 2: Mornings

Hey guys long time no see anyway this is just a beginning line so you can just ignore what I have typed up **IN THIS LINE!** but please do not ignore the other stuff because it just might be important. Or not you'll just have to take your chances.

Alright before you get on with the story I would like to mention that I got my first ever review on the first chapter of my story so I think that's a good sign I must be doing something right.

Thanks a lot Wikedlovely! I told you I would mention you! ^.^

Well you guys are probably bored right now so I guess I'll let you get on with the reading.

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters in this story are not mine they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. If I do make up any characters then they belong to me. I intend no copyright.

**WARNING!: Was not proofread so I'm sorry if there are mistakes. If you will please leave a review telling me of the mistake and I will be sure to correct. Thank you for reading the warning.**

**Enjoy! :)**

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><p><strong>Little Spirit<strong>

It was like any other day in the Village Hidden in the Mist. The civilians who had to venture out early in the morning were all trying to crowd into the tea and bakery shops that were open. Some of the civilians were already being bugged by pesky merchants trying to sell their wears. Others were just trying to get to work in one piece like any other morning. And it was exactly like that everyday for many of the people in the village...that is if they were civilians.

Yes, the civilians had no worries whatsoever. The only thing that was on most of their minds was what kind of doughnut they wanted to go with their coffee, or where they wanted to go to lunch on their break. None of them seemed to notice that something was happening inside of the village. At least if they did no one said anything about it.

And it was exactly how _he_ wanted it.

"_**Everything** is going exactly as planned and** he**_ _didn't have to thank anyone but_ _**himself**_."

Thought a mysterious man as he looked down at the village from his high perch in a tall tree outside the walls of the village. The man was covered from head to toe in nothing but black. From his standard black baggy shirt to his black cargo pants and military issued black boots. As the wind blew the tree started to bend slightly, but it didn't seem to effect the man in any way because in one minute he was in the tree and then the next he was on the ground below the tree and walking slowly off to the entrance of the village while whistling a happy tune.

Before going through the entrance of the village the man henged into a old woman with a black shawl over her head and a hunched over back. When he was passing the guards station the only thing they did was wave him on in.

"_Idiots."_ Thought the man as he gave the guards his own little wave. _" They'll all pay but for now I've got more planning to do and more things to accomplish."_

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><p><strong><em>Hiragana Compound, early morning<em>**

It was early morning in the Hiragana family compound with the sun just barely peaking over the edge of the mountain tops. The dew on the grass and in the leaves of the trees sparkled like christmas lights as the sun made its slow journey up. And even though it was so early in the morning people were already starting to rise to get ready for the new day.

Of course this getting up early doesn't happen every day. No. Today was a special day for the clan and no one wanted to get there late. So everyone was up and ready to go by the time the rest of the village outside of the compound walls was just getting started. Of course almost everyone in the compound was ready at least. There was only one person that seemed to have forgotten how important it was to be up and ready by the time the sun was barely over the mountain.

This person was of course, Sukoshi Hiragana.

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><p><strong><em>Inside Hiragana head household, Sukoshi's room<em>**

The room was quiet in the warm, morning sunlight peaking in through the slightly parted curtains. No sounds were heard inside the room except for the peaceful breathes of someone sleeping. Time seemed to have stood still in the room. That is until there was a extremely loud, harsh knock on the door across the room that seemed to have brought the room to life.

Being startled awake from her peaceful dream Sukoshi, being the six-year-old that she was, went sailing over the side of her bed and was inches away from hitting her head on the nightstand beside her bed. Also being the avid believer that waking up before the sun was above the mountains was a bad idea, she decided to state that fact by responding with a resounding groan as she continued to lie in the same position that she had fallen in.

"_I hate mornings."_ Sukoshi thought as she laid on the floor feeling as if she could still sleep for a few more hours.

"_And knowing my family I probably could have slept for a few more hours if they didn't see fit to wake me up all the time."_ She laid there and thought as the harsh knocking on her door seemed like it would never end.

Apparently the demon that was knocking at the door had heard either her fall or her groan because after a moment with fumbling for a hold on the door, they started to slide the door to her room open.

**XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"_Figures,"_ Thought Sukoshi's older brother, Arashi, as he walked down the hallway to his little sisters room grumpily.

" _I would be the one who got stuck with trying to wake Sukoshi up. Even though it is about impossible unless she decides she wants to get up herself."_ Was his thoughts as he finally reached the door of his sister's room.

"O.k." Arashi thought out loud. "All I have to do is make so much noise that she want be able to stand it and then come out of the mountain of pillows that she is most likely buried in." Arashi finished while rolling his eyes in exasperation at the image of his little sisters' antics. Lifting his hand he took a breathe, sent a prayer to kami, and hoped that Sukoshi was already up and ready so they wouldn't be late and keeping everyone waiting at the temple.

Clearing the worries from his mind he took another breathe and dived right in.

**XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

Apparently the person at the door was finally able to get it open because the next thing Sukoshi knew it went from being peacefully silent to aggravated sighs, groans, and the occasional curse or two. Thinking that it would just be best to lay there and pretend to be dead. Sukoshi started to slowly close her eyes and started to slow down her breathing and heart rate, hoping that whoever was in her room didn't notice that she had been awake before and thought that she was still sleeping and would leave her alone to continue as she was. No such luck.

The person who was tormenting her so early in the morning was none other than the heir to the Hirgana throne himself, Arashi. It didn't seem to help when she laid there pretending to be dead because Arashi didn't care if you were asleep or not, if he was up it was time for you to be up. Of course Sukoshi was one of the select few who actually defied this sacred law. The others being their father, mother, and the elders of the clan, who got up when they felt like getting up. But sadly today would be the day that everyone had to be up bright and early no matter if you were the lowest in the clan or the highest. It had to be done.

Sukoshi, ignoring everything that had been going on around her during her inner rant, did not notice her brother reaching for the covers until it was to late. The covers had been over Sukoshi's head at the time, protecting her from both her brother's scowl and the sun's rays, but now it was off and there was nothing keeping either of them out.

Due to the sudden change of scenery that had once been her dark, plain white cocoon to the unmerciful face of her brother there was only one thing she could do. She widened her eyes and stared back innocently.

**XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"_I can't believe her!"_ Thought Arashi as he looked down into his sister's bottomless jade green eyes. It might have been a funny sight if today wasn't such an important day for his little sister.

"Sukoshi!" Arashi bent down and got in her face to yell. "You know you were supposed to have gotten up hours ago! Now you'll be late!" Arashi, noticing that his yelling seemed to have no affect on his little sister decided that there must be something that might help him to get her up.

Bending back up, Arashi looked around the room and saw that the edge of her bed was tilted up slightly. Getting a devilish idea, Arashi walked to the end of Sukoshi's bed to retrieve what looked to be her journal. Knowing that this would definitely get her up and moving, since she really liked to keep her secrets secret, he started to read entries from her journal aloud and without shame for evading his sister's privacy.

**XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

"_**Dear Diary, First entry,**_

_**Well, I'm really not for sure what I should write since I have never had a journal before, so sorry if this first entry sucks.**_

_**Okay, so I guess I should start off by telling you a little about myself.**_

_**My name is Sukoshi Hiragana and I am from the head family of the Hiragana clan. I have a older brother named Arashi Hiragana but I think a better name for him would be bastard."**_

For awhile everything was silent after that sentence. Sukoshi was now wishing that she had done what she was told and got up early to get ready. Obviously kami must have really hated her for what it was putting her through...or it just had a twisted sense of humor. There was just no other way to explain her bad luck.

Sukoshi, still staring at her brother innocently, began to slowly grab the edge of her cover to pull it over her head again, but before she even reached the hem she was jerked roughly up by her wrist and suspened in the air.

"_SUKOSHI!_" Was what was yelled in her face as she tried her best to give a sheepish smile even though on the inside she was doing cartwheels and yelling at her small victory. Sadly her victory didn't last long as she was dropped roughly back the floor. Looking up in surprise at her brother Sukoshi didn't know what to think when she saw the calm face of her brother. Of course intuition told her that whatever was about to happen she wasn't going to like it.

Apparently Arashi hadn't noticed that she had been staring at him the entire time until he looked down and saw her looking up at him.

"Well," Arashi started with a small smirk starting to form on his face, " since your obviously able to write such big words you must be able to give a very good explanation on why your not ready yet." Arashi finished with his hands slowly rising to his hips in a dominate gesture.

"Uhhh...well..." Sukoshi started but wasn't able to finish since she really didn't have a good reason as to why she slept in even though she knew she wasn't allowed to. Sighing and drooping her head and shoulders in dispair, she shrugged her shoulders at her brother slightly and tried to give him a pleading gaze.

Arashi, who had been watching her the entire time, knew that she wasn't going to be able to come up with a answer, so he slowly laid the journal back on the bed and lifted one of his hands to point at the bathroom door beside the closet.

"Go." Was the only thing Arashi said as he began to walk out of the room. He stopped in the doorway and turned around to look at her.

Sukoshi, wanting to be defiant but knowing that she shouldn't, sighed again and got up from her place on the floor to walk dejectedly over to her bathroom door. Turning her head to her bathroom as she lifted a hand to turn the knob she did nothing but stare a while. Seeing that it didn't seem to faze her brother she stuck her tongue out at him and then flew into the bathroom with sparkles in her eyes and a bright smile on her face.

**XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX (Arashi)**

He sighed in exasperation at her antics.

"_As usual,"_ he thought, _"she always has to have the last laugh."_ Arashi thought as he stood in Sukoshi's door way for the tale-tell sounds of the shower being turned on and someone stepping inside.

Finally hearing the slight pitter patter he turned around, grabbed the door and slid the door closed as he walked back out into the hallway. Looking around he slowly started his way back to the kitchen where he knew his mother and father were waiting.

"_Well father won't be to happy about Sukoshi being late, but I guess we still have enough time for her to get ready and eat at least an apple on the way to the temple."_ He thought as he as was coming close to the doorway of the kitchen.

Stopping when he got there he didn't entire until he heard the deep baritone of his father's voice telling him to entire.

"Arash," His father said as he walked in and sat down at the table. There sitting at the table on the left side of his father kind of made him intimidated if he was telling the truth. He was also sure that he wasn't the only one to be intimidated be his father.

His father stood at six foot and three inches, with brood shoulders and a extremely well muscled chest. He had long, silver hair that reached the middle of his back tied at the base of his neck. The black robe with red tribal markings and baggy red pants seemed to give him an even more of a intimidating air, but not as much as his clan tattoos did.

The tattoos were what every clan member would have some day. The clan tattoos represented a lot of things like the rank you were in a clan or they could also represent your progress at the temple. The reason for the latter is because the tattoos were not man created. They would just appear on your body, no matter the age, if you were doing good in the temple then any of the tattoos could appear anywhere on your body. Although they generally start from the tips of your toes all the way to the top of your head and sometimes the tattoos would be imprinted in your hair.

The hair imprints hardly ever happened to anyone outside of the head family and it generally only happened to the males since the males were able to grow strong enough to reach to the required level. His father, Arashi could tell, was almost to the required level because of how close his red tattoos were getting to his hair line.

Looking at his mother he was able to tell that she had been married at a young age because the tips of her light blue clan tattoos were barely visible poking past the collar of his mothers maroon red kimono with black tribal markings starting from the bottom and going over her right shoulder. Usually when the women of the clan get married they are prohibited from going on missions or working at the temple. He was sure that it was because after the woman is married all she needs to worry about doing is the domestic things and raising the children.

Arashi, sneakily lifted up the left leg of his own pair of pants, just like his fathers, looking down at his own red tattoos creeping up to his knees.

"_I wonder if I'll ever have as many tattoos has father."_ Arashi thought as he dropped his pants like back in place and settled his hands on the table.

Finally looking around for the first time since he walked in he noticed that his mother must have put everything away but left a bowl of rice and a apple sitting on the table for Sukoshi when she was ready.

After staring at everything but his parents, he finally sighed and looked at his father who had been frowning at him the entire time he had been staring off into space.

"Sukoshi wasn't ready when I went to go get her and right now she is probably almost done taking a shower." He got out quickly as he saw the frown his father's face deepen. Watching his father rub his chin irritably he turned to is mother when he heard her speak for the first time since breakfast.

"Well," She started as she set the teacup she had been drinking out of down and slowly got up from her sit, " I better go and help her with her shiro-maku then." When his mother was finished talking he watched her walk out of the room and then looked back to his father who looked as if his thoughts were troubling him. Thinking nothing of his father's behavior, he reached across the table to grab a cup that had been own a platter and poured himself some tea that had been sitting beside the platter of cups.

**To be continued...**

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><p>Okay guys well here is the chapter after weeks have passed since the first one. I seriously hope I didn't make anyone mad with my lateness cause if I did I apologize. I didn't mean for it to be so late I just didn't have any inspiration and I was just to lazy to force myself to sit down and type something that would probably be crap anyway. So as I always tell my teachers, "better late then never."..<p>

Anyway I know there isn't a lot of action in this chapter but that's because it is a filler and I'm really not for sure if I'm going to make the next one a filler chapter or not.

Alright for those of you who don't know what a shiro-maku is...well it is just a japanese word for a type of kimono is all. So yeah, not all that important.

Anyway I'm going to stop talking now and start on the next chapter, so yeah. Review please! I really don't care what you say. You could just send me a review of just you complaining about how late my chapter was and threaten me not to do it again. I really don't care just as long as I hear your opinion on something.


	3. Chapter 3 : New Beginnings

*** Revised ***

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><p>For the people that reviewed...<p>

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU! And that is why this chapter was posted so soon!

**And! That's what I would have said if I had ever finished this chapter when I wanted to but, alas, the terrible disease known as Kakashi-osis seemed to have attacked and stole all the energy I had and didn't give it back for months. Never fear though I have been cured for now but who is to say it will not strike again... :(**

So for the people that have been anticipating this chapter you need to thank: . .CHoMP. angel897 and Wickedlovely (thanks for reviewing _again)_

So yeah, you guys are awesome.

Disclaimer: Well as we all know I don't own Naruto or I'd actually make the kunoichi in the series awesome. Of course though I do own the characters I make up.

**WARNING: sorry about all the mistakes, but if you would send me a review of where they are I would be happy to change them. Thanks!**

**ENJOY! or don't...**

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><p><em>Hiragana compound, Sukoshi's bathroom<em>

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><p>Opening her bathroom door fast and closing it roughly she leaned back against it and couldn't help but think of how stupid she was for sticking her tongue out at her brother.<p>

"_GAH! What's wrong with me! Arashi could have easily snapped and taken my head off if he wanted!" _Sukoshi thought wildly as she outwardly contemplated hitting herself in the head with her poor, innocent looking toothbrush. Deciding against her body's reaction since she rather liked the pink piece of plastic well enough and she really didn't want to damage it with her thick skull. Lifting her back from off the door she began making her way slowly to the middle of the spacious bathroom. Looking around Sukoshi noticed that she didn't have any of the pieces of her shiro-maku.

"_Hmm...I guess mother forgot to lay out the pieces last night." _Sukoshi thought while she did one last look around to make sure that her shiro-maku wasn't just hiding from her.

Realizing after a few more moments of searching that the kimono just wasn't in there she decided to give up the search in favor of getting ready for when her mother came in with it instead at least that's what she assumed would happen.

Nodding her head in agreement with her plan she then walked over to the only mirror in the bathroom. To tell you the truth it was a pretty big mirror for a six-year-old to use, going from the ceiling all the way to the floor, but it was something that her mother wanted her to have and so she had to get it. Sighing at the ridiculousness of having such a mirror, she promptly got over it and stood in front of it to check over her appearance.

"Hmm," Sukoshi hummed while examining her reflection in the mirror. Running her hands lightly over herself starting from the tight, pink tribal braids in her hair to the hem of her short, plain white yukata. Frowning slightly at her reflection she decided to lean closer to the mirror lifting her hand to lightly grab hold of her cheek and lifting the baby fat up to give her face a skinnier look.

After awhile of just standing and looking at herself in the mirror while doing funny things to her face Sukoshi decided that it was time to start undoing her braids so she could jump in the shower. Starting with the braids at the front of her head and ending with the ones in the back she quickly ran her hands throughout her hair to make sure she didn't miss any. It was a total pain when she did because she had to deal with the headache of having to somehow extract the rubber band from her wet _and_ **TANGLED **hair.

Turning from the mirror and walking across the cold, pale tiles she reached out for the ornate handle to the step in shower that could, no doubt, hold twenty people and all have enough room to move as freely as they wished. Sliding the stain glass of the shower open just enough for her to be able to stick her hand in and turn the knobs to the temperature that would, hopefully, bring her out of the blues she seemed to be trapped in. Hearing the _pitter patter_ of liquid on tile she decided that she would give the water a few minutes to warm up before stepping in.

Walking back to the mirror she started untying her obi with slim, nimble fingers. Finished she slid the yukata off her shoulders and allowed it to fall gently to the ground, encasing her small, dainty feet underneath. Looking at herself closely she couldn't help but frown at the figure she saw reflecting back at her.

She was short for her age with small, fragile shoulders, thin arms, a skinny waist, and slender hips. Her legs were the only feature of her body that didn't make her look as if she would break if the wind were to blow too harshly. She didn't even want to think about how delicate the features of her face made her seem.

"_It's not fair..." _She thought depressingly as she stared on at her reflection. She despised how weak and fragile her physique made her seem, especially in comparison to her older brother's. Frowning she slowly raised her fist as if she were about to punch the offending mirror to pieces but she instead just stared at the small fist her hand made.

"How come you have to be so tiny." She spoke aloud. It was silent as she stared for a few minutes more until the steam from the shower had begun to fog up the glass causing her reflection to become opaque to the point that the only thing that could be seen was the pink of her hair and the fuzzy outline of her body.

Taking the fogging of the mirror as her cue to get a move-on, she turned from the mirror and started making her way back toward the shower, but not before grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste along the way. She would just have to brush her teeth while in the shower to save time.

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><p><strong>XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX<strong>

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><p>"Hmmmmm." Said the woman as she walked down the hallway of the extravagant home. Taking inventory of all the many portraits and nick-nacks that had been hanging on the walls since the first Hirgana clan head decided that the great Village of the Mist would become the permanent home of the clan. Allowing her delicate fingers to brush up against her favorite of all the nick-nacks, the hilt of a beautifully crafted katana that had been in the family for generations, as she made her way down the lengthy hallway to her and her's husbands bedroom.<p>

Walking past her daughter's room she peaked in just to make sure she had actually gotten in the shower instead of crawling back into bed when she was sure her brother had left. Looking over the mess that was Sukoshi's room made her beautiful face frown ever so slightly but instead of dwelling on her daughter's very unladylike mannerisms she closed the door and continued on her way deciding to have a chat with Sukoshi as soon as she could about how '_one day it would be her duty to keep the house as spotless as possible for her future husband '_.

Knowing the reaction that Sukoshi would make at the well worn-out lecture she couldn't help but to allow the smallest of giggles to escape from her otherwise tight-lipped mouth. It was, after all, very unbecoming of the matriarch to find such nonsense so amusing.

She allowed the smallest of sighs to escape from her mouth just thinking about the restrictions that were placed on her from the elders and the traditions of the clan that they cruelly enforced. She had always thought it was unfair that she had to give up her life as a kunoichi the moment that she had turned at 18. Not wanting the same restrictions to be placed on the shoulders of her daughter she had been trying ever since the day she had been born to allow some type of leniency to be placed on the women of the clan so that the ones who were kunoichi would still be allowed to keep their jobs instead of having to drop everything and follow the whims of their husbands.

Coming to the door she stared for a long time, reminiscing the first night she hand spent in the unfamiliar household with her husband.

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><p><strong>XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX<strong>

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><p><em>Hanako couldn't believe her eyes as the carriage that had carried her and her, freshly married, husband from the reception at the Tamshii no Tomo temple all the way to the majestic, more like intimidating, mansion that was the clan head's residence. Unable to take her eyes off the wooden structure that seemed to take up more space in the sky than the sun and moon combined she never noticed when the carriage came to a halt outside the walled entrance to the mansion or the middle-aged couple standing mere inches from the carriage itself. <em>

_Hearing a grunt come from the young man beside her immediately snapped her from the trance that she had been under signaling that it was time to quit making googly-eyes at the house (mansion) and step out of the carriage so that they could proceed with the rest of the evenings events._

_As soon as her feet hand touched solid ground she was swept into a breathtaking hug from the woman who she assumed must be none other than her dearest mother-in-law in the flesh. Grimacing slightly at the lack of air and the bad mojo that seemed to always follow the relationship between daughter-in-laws and mother-in-laws she looked on at the woman who would no doubt be the bane of her existence. _

"_Hello, my name is Emi and this is my husband, Hibiki." The woman said holding her hands out to her husband when mentioning his name after releasing the startled young woman from the awfully warm hug that she had just been given._

_Looking at the middle-aged woman that was just too close for her liking she could definitely see why she was considered the most beautiful matriarch on this side of the continent. Her hair was the typical silver hair that all of the clan seemed to share but instead of being nothing but silver it seemed to have a slight undertone of a lavender color making it appear softer than her husband's who's hair was so light in color it could have been considered white instead of silver. Pulled back in a braided bun with what looked like a senbon keeping the hair from escaping brought out the graceful heart shape of her face and allowing her golden hued eyes to be seen without any obstacles. Her skin was the color of cream and the mid-day sun shining down on all of them seemed to be making her skin seem as if it were glowing by some sort of ethereal light being emanated by the dainty woman standing beside her rigid husband._

_Attempting to take a step back from the overbearingly warm energy that seemed to be coming from the woman she backed straight into the arms of the man who she had just married but new nothing about. Feeling the strong grip that his hands made on her shoulders made her shiver slightly._

"_Are you alright?" Emi asked as she leaned forward ever so slightly as if she had been about to catch Hanako herself._

_Feeling sufficiently embarrassed Hanako could do nothing but nod her head to assure to everyone that she was indeed (only not really) fine._

"_Well, let's get you inside then. We have to begin preparing you for the guests who will arrive soon." Emi said turning and walking inside the gate to her home. Hibiki followed soon after telling the carrige driver to get her bags and place them in the room straight down the hallway. When she tried to follow after him, though, the grip that had been on her shoulders the entire time wouldn't allow her to move from her spot against her husband's chest. _

"_Umm.." She said, again becoming nervous feeling as helpless as a child. Looking up to see why he was holding her back was probably the worst mistake she could have ever made._

_He was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. Sure his father was quite the looker himself but he had nothing on his son. His hair was the same exact hue as his father's along with his eyes. The eyes that had no doubt struck fear into the hearts of the many he had faced in battle for his country. They were both ruby red in color and the pale of his skin helped bring out how smoldering they were. _

_In her entranced state Hanako hadn't realized how close his face had become in the few moments of silence that had been hanging around them like smoke until she felt him let her go and begin walking toward his home of many years. Realizing that the heir of the Hiragana clan had been analyzing her as she was making googly-eyes at him made her blush. She couldn't understand why he had made her heart race the way it did but it had and there was no doubt in her mind that he could hear it. Which made her blush ten times daker than it had been before._

_This was going to be a long night._

**To be continued...**

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><p>Well all I can say is... I'm sorry for doing another filler. My reasoning for this is because I couldn't come up with anything else and I figured that you guys had waited long enough for another chapter so I decided that this would have to do, at least for now.<p>

I know you guys are probably all wondering why I did the chapter the way I did and I'm going to tell you.

I just really want to draw you guys into the lives of the Hiragana head family so that the story will be a little more impacting. I think I will continue with the way that its heading since I have no control over how its going to begin with.

**Hanako Hiragana : **the meaning of her name is "flower" and "child".

**Tamshii no Tomo : **this means "soul mates". The naming of the temple will be explained later in the chapters to come.

**Emi Hiragana :** the meaning of her name is "blessing, favour" or " picture" and "beautiful" combined.

**Hibiki Hiragana :** the meaning of his name is "echo, sound".


End file.
